Farmer's wife quilt

Like the rest of Blogger Land I want to make this quilt. I bought the book when I went to the Uttoxeter Quilt show back in April (see post) but I wasn't ready to start it because the hand work I was doing was on my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt. My friend, Jan, has already started it. I have nearly finished the individual flowers for that quilt so I am ready to think about having something else as a portable stitching project.

This will fit the bill nicely (yes, I know I've got the double 9 patch quilt I've started the other week but a girl has to have variety, especially when she has a short attention span)

This project is just about to get to big to cart around.

Having read other blogs I've decided to use Nicole's link (be sure to read her post dated 25th July) to print the templates out and then to laminate them

This is how they come off the printer.

I am in the process of cutting them out, they will make nice stiff templates that should last, hopefully. There is a quilt a long group for this quilter but I've not decided whether to join, I would be about 9-10 weeks behind, not that really matters.

A boat trip!

On Saturday we met up with some friends that own a canal boat. Although the friends are from Sheffield, their boat was moored up in our part of the world.

Their intention was to go down this...................and they invited us knowing we like canals.

This is the Anderton boat lift. It dates back to 1875 and was built to take working boats carrying cargoes up and down between the Trent & Mersey canal and the River Weaver. It was operational until 1983 when it was found to have severe corrosion and to be structurally unsound. 

When we came to Cheshire from Sheffield in 1992 the boat lift was derelict and a very sorry sight, in fact it couldn't be seen because the trees had grown up all round it. During the 1990's there was a huge fund raising project to restore it. There is a visitors' centre which can be approached by road or canal with a nice cafe.We often walk the dog on this part of the canal as it is only a mile away from home.

The boat was originally a working butty boat dating back to 1912 but it was converted to a leisure boat in the early 1980's

Here you can just see a little bit of the inside of the boat, it even has a household washing machine in it.

Here, we were waiting on the canal bank to board the boat.

Some other canal users!

This is a lock, a big lock on the River Weaver which able to take a sea going vessel. There was our boat and another behind us and there was still plenty of room for quite a few more boats!

The lock gates, which were huge and also original from when the  lock was built.

The gates opening to reveal the river

The lock had taken us down about 2 feet between the 2 different levels of the river.

 

This is a swing road bridge over the river, it is part of the A49 going towards Warrington. We moored up just past the bridge and went to a pub on the right hand of the river, just off the side of the photo. It is a pub we use quite a lot for lunch.

A little shopping!

I am still around but work is taking over at present and I don't really expect things to get better until the company situation has been resolved.

This quilt top is now at the quilters.

I've bought half a metre of this for the binding in readiness for the quilt to return to me. 

I went shopping in my LQS last Friday. I had seen this panel on The Fat Quarter Shop website ages ago but I prevaricated and didn't buy it but once I saw it I had to buy it.

I also bought a metre of the border fabric and a couple of FQs. I have ordered some more FQs to use for the borders for the rest of the panel.

This is where I've got so far -this was Friday afternoon's output.

A finish!!

There have been lots of starts round here but very few finishes, well, today there has been a finish - ta da!!

 I made the blocks for this quilt on 26th May and put them together today - it only took about an hour and a half.

The fabric is Moda Fruitcake. I used a charm pack and some FQs cut into 2.5 inch strips.

I am not going to quilt it myself, I am going to send it out to Jude as I would like some sort of Christmasy design quilted on it using some of her lovely thread. 

I was supposed to work this morning, in fact I went into work to find that I had no qualified staff on nights tonight so I came home so I can go back on night duty. I am on nights for the next 2 nights anyway - so no more quilting for me until Monday or Tuesday. 

More quilting!

I've managed to make the settings for these 9 patch blocks so far this week. I want to finish the settings by the 10th of August. My friend, Jan & I have a quilt shop hop planned and I want to buy the fabric for the borders on this jaunt. I have run out of the reddy coloured fabric so I've ordered some more along with some fabric for sashings. When I come to sash these blocks I'm going to be cutting off some points because on some of the blocks there isn't a quarter of inch border to attach the sashing to, never mind, I'll try to wing & a prayer it so it won't be too obvious once the quilt is quilted. 

 This afternoon I've been playing with my rail fence blocks.

I've now finished one hand stitched block.

This is want it will look like with sashings. One down, 19 to go!

Bits!

I've got a new bag for work. It is reminiscent of a school satchel. It's got some good pockets which is always useful for a work bag. It is from Accessorize and was half price. I had seen it at full price but wasn't prepared to pay it. When DD saw it at half price and asked me if I still wanted I snatched her hand off.

I've made a few more blocks for my scrappy rail fence quilt.

Tomorrow I'll show you where I've got with my 9 patch Civil War quilt.

I shouldn't do it!

Yesterday Jan (DD's MIL & my close quilting friend) & I went to Chester, to Liberty Bell, a wonderful quilting and American whismeys gift shop. We love this shop and if you ever visit Chester you must go.

Anyway, I bought this fabric. The FQ's are for my Civil War BOW and the pink and brown fabric are for a new quilt. This is where the title of my post came in.

 The object of my desire is in this magazine.

 This is the quilt, I love it!!

It is just coincidence that my pink fabric is the same as in the mag but I'm using a brown fabric for the sashings as I don't like the blue.

I really shouldn't start another quilt as I've so much already on the go but I have just fallen in love and it is also a good way to use up some scraps.

 The sahings and pink squares all cut out.

In the instructions for this quilt the 9 patches are machined in strip sets but I've decided to hand piece it and hand quilt it so it should keep me going for the next 10 years even though I'm not going to make it as big as the pattern. I've been having great fun finding and cutting up 1 & a half inch squares for the 9 patches.

 I've got this very cute tin to be able to carry this project around in.

In other news you may have heard in the news that the UK's biggest Care Home operator is closing. I work for this operator. It has been an unsettling time and it isn't getting better at present. I think is highly unlikely my home will close but we expect to have a new owner and of course it is a very worrying time for our older people who live in our homes.

Scraps!

Now, as you long time quilty girls know, when you quilt you make scraps - all shapes and sizes!!!

And lots of quilters talk about trying to use their scraps up. Bonnie Hunter is a great source of information when trying to sort and store your scraps and I am sort of using some of her advice but I've only recently started to have enough scraps to do something with. As I love 9 patch and Grandmother's flower garden blocks, a lot of my scraps will be cut into 2.5 inch patches but I fell in love with the rail fence quilt on the front cover of August's American Patchwork & Quilting magazine   ...............  so here is my first block using my scraps for this quilt. It is very simple and I'd give you the block measurements & strip sizes but I'm concerned that I would unwittingly be in breach of copyright.

My other civil war quilt

Last year I took part in an international 9 patch block exchange. We each made enough 9 patch blocks for 2 each for each lady that was taking part. In the end we each got 70 blocks.

This is my pile of blocks. I've been procrastinating about how to set them and make up the quilt top.

I have now finally decided!

As part of this year's civil war BOW we have made this block - Union Square. I decided that this setting would be perfect for my 9 patch swap blocks.

Here are the 2 I've made up so far. I think a narrow sashing in navy blue will also work very well.

What do you think?

Next Civil War Batch!

Due to being on holiday and work I'd got rather behind with my Civil War blocks. I have now caught up. 

 Here are the next 10 cut out. I'm not quite sure how I got behind by 10 but never mind, all sorted now.

They are mainly in order - this one is Missouri Star - no 19

20-New  England block - I really like this one. 

21-Underground railroad

22-Blockade - this one I had to unpick and redo, doing it my own way as I am afraid I couldn't get Barbara's way to work.

23-Illinois Roads

24-Ladies Aid Album

25-Calico Puzzle

26-Barbara Frietchie Star

27-Irish Chain

Here are all the blocks so far laid out together. We are now just over hald way. This is going to be a big quilt, I think it will easily fit our king size bed and I haven't even thought about the sashings yet!